Shoe construction



*Patented Nov. 18, 1924,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN D. -PBIC AND WAL1ER HENRY DRAKE, Q1! CIEVELND, H10.

1SHOE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed October 31, 1922. Serial No. 598,132,

Ta alZ whom z't may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN D. Pmon and WALTER H. DRAKE, citizens of theUnited States, "residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga andState of Ohio, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements inShoe Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shoe construm tins and has for an object toprovide a shoe constructed of such material and combined in such manneras to o0nstantly and at all times provide an interior sole construction,presenting a convex surface to the ball of the foot and concavedsurfaces to otheiparts of the foot.

It is well known and has been repeatedly demonstrated that the naturalrequirement of the foot for the proper support of its anatomicalstructure is that of an upwardly curved member so that the foot itself,when so positioned, shall be concaved upon its tread surface. Attemptshave been made to accomplish this in shoe construction but, by reason ofthe material employed and the manner of construction, such convexity ofsole surface, although originally provided,

is not maintaihcd owing to the exigencies of wear. r 9

The present invention is, therefore, directed in part to the employmentof a member or unit entering into the sole which has an initialcurvature and formation corresponding to the anatomical requirements ofthe foot, which said curvature by reasonof the material will bemaintained 'throughout the life of the shoe. As at present apparent,this member will be composed of metal of some kind, also as. it atpresent seems this metal will preferably be tempered steel, and theinvention further embodies .means for employing this spring member tomaintain it out of contact With the foot and the ground and to. yetmaintain all parts in the desired shape and provide that desiredspringiness of action requisite .to easy walking. 7

Irrespective of materials or manner of making, the present invention isdirected to a shoe which has upon its innr sole surface a convexitywhich it maintains thronghout the life of the shoe.

With these and other objects in view, the invention Comprises certainnovel parts, clements, units, combinations, constructions andarrangements as disdosed in the d1*av.v-

ings together with mechanical and material equivalents thereof as willbe hereinafter more fully describcd and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view in transverse section of a shoeembodying the present invention. Figure 2 is a top plan view of thespring or resilient member removed.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section view through the spring member takenon line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4: is a transverse sectional view across the spring member takenon line 44 of Figure 2.

Figures 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are likewise transverse sectional views taken"on lines indicated. 7

Likecharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

In a co-pending' application Serial No.

598,131 filed on even date herewith, a means for attaching the upper to8. construction which will include a metal plate is disclosed. In thatapplication as well as in the present application, the term metal plateis employed toindicate any {plate of sheet inetal or the like which willembody and provide the requisrite or dlesired ,features of springiness,elasticity, resiliency, and be water-proof, or such, all or several ascircumstances may malte desirable, and the term metal plate is to beunderstood as in no way limiting the invention to such material, asother materials, such for instance as vulcanites or the like, may atsometnne be found acceptable or even preferable in the construction ofthe shoe and the present' invention includes' any and all such material.

The desideratum of the invention is that this plate 10 shall be soconstructed, shape'd and contourcd as to present to the ball of the footor the walking part a convex surface, as indicated by the bowed line inFigure 1 which is taken across the ball of the foot or substantiallcorresponding to line 6-6 of Figure 2. t will be noted that a footpositioned in a shoe of such contourcomprising the upper ll,insole 12and outer sole 13 will bear upon a convexed surface which is thererepresented by a liner 14 covering over the metal plate 10, and with theedges of such liner folded over and abouttheeges of the metal plate andunder the edges of the ins0le 12 and secured by steples 15. The

present invention is not in any way limited to this fastening means,either including the staples 15 or even the exact manner of turniiig theedges of the liner and the edges of the up cr under the insole forsecuring thereto. guch invention as may be 'involved in this feature isincluded in said co-pending application.

The metal plate 10. as will be noted, at the principal walking position,as for instance represented by theline 66 in Figure 6, is an upwardlycurved or convexed surface, the ball of the foot resting directly uponits convexed surface. This convexity decreases toward the toe so that atthe line 5-5 the sole is neither convexed nor concaved but is concavedat the line 4-4. Also at the line 77, as disclosed by Figure 7, thismember is substantially plane, and the heel part of the plate is aga1nconcaved at the fines 88 and 99 as indicated by the figurescorresponding thereto. It will also be noted that longitudinally theplate is concaved throughout the length including the foot from the archto the toc. The metal plate 10 is, of course, stamped out or other wiseformed to correspond with these desired lines and contours and, whenplaced in the shoe with the liner covering over the surface adjacent thefoot and properly attached to the sole, it maintains its shape duringthe life of the shoe. The formation of the insole by skiving the edgesto form the center thicker as indicated at 16 in Figure 1 Will beobvious to one skilled in the art as it is naturally desirable that thesole 13 present a surface which will correspond to the usual surfacebeing walked upon, or in other words a surface made up of transversestraight lines.

It is again emphasized that, while the means for employing this springmember in association with other parts as disclosed in the drawings isfound a desirable means and one Which' it is thought Will be employcd,the present invention is in no way limited thereto and includes theemployment of a spring or resilient plate contoured to the desired shapefor a tread surface and included in a shoe organization in any manner.

What we claim is:

1. An inner sole construction for shoes, embodying a plate of rigidmaterial attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniform convexitytransversely at the locus of the ball of the foot, an insulatingcovcring member for the plate, and means to attach the insulating coverto maintain the plate in position.

2. An inner sole construction for shoes, embodying a plate of rigidmaterial attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniform convexitytransversely at the locus of the der the plate, and means engagin themargmal edges for maintaining the p ate in position.

3. An inner sole forshoe's, composed of.

material attenuated to resiliency and presentmg a un1form convex1tytransversly en-' tirely across at the locus of. the ball of the foot, aninsulating' cover for the plate, and

means to attach the insulating cover to maintain the late in position.

5. An 1nner sole construction for shoes embodying an' imperf0rate platecf rigid material attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniformccnvexit; transversely entirely across at the locus of the ball of thefoot, a fabric covering for the plate having its marginal edges turnedunder the plate,

and means engaging the marginal edges for maintaining the plate inposition.

6. An inner sole for shoes, composed of an imperforate plate of rigidmaterial attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniform convexitytransVersely entirely across at the locus of the ball of the foot with atransversel concaved portion at the locus of the heeli 7 An inner soleconstruction for shoes embodying an imperforate plate of rigid materialattenuated t0 resiliency and presenting a uniform convexity transverselyentirely across at the locus of the ball of the foot'with a transverselyconcaved portion at the locus of the heel, an insulating covering memberfor the plate, and means to'attach the.insulating cover to maintain theplate in position.

8. An inner sole construction for shoes, embodying an imperforate plateof rigid material attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniformconvexity transversely entirely across at the locus of the ball of thefoot with a; transversely concaved portion at the locus of the heel, afabric covering for the plate having its marginal edges turned under theplate, and means engaging the marginal edges for maintaining the platein position.

9. An inner sole l'or shoes, composed of an imperforate plate of rigidmaterial attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniformconvexity*transverseh entirely across at the locus of the ball of thefoot with a transversely concaved portion at the locus of the heelconnected by an upwardly bowed, arched portion.

10. An inner sole construction for shoes, composed of an imperforateplate of rigid material attenuated to resiliency and presenting auniform convexity transversely entirely across at the locus of the ballof the foot With a. transversely concaved portion et the locus of theheel conneeted by a cylindrical segmentupwardly bowed, arched portion,en insulating cover for the plate,end means to attach the insulatingcover to maintain the plate in position.

11. An inner sole construction for shoes, embodying an imperforate plateof rigid material attenuated to resiliency and presenting a uniformconvexity transversely entirely across at the locus of the ball of theits marginal edges turned under the plate,

and menus engaging th e marginl edges for maintaining the plate mposition.

tures.

JOHN D. PRICE. WALTER HENRY DRAKE.

In testimony whereof We afiix Olll signa- 2

